shares were up 13% in trading Friday following the company's fourth-quarter earnings beat and the real estate service provider's announcement that CEO Spencer Rascoff will be stepping down. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 1 cent per share, topping analysts' expectations that called for a break-even quarter. The company announced that Rascoff will be stepping down, to be replaced by Rich Barton, one of the founders of the company and the CEO who served between 2005 and 2010 before Rascoff took the helm.

Zillow Group Inc., saying that “Uberized” consumers also want to instantly buy and sell homes with a click of a button on their phones, is making an even bigger bet on real estate buying, with projections that carry a lot of risk.

Zillow Group Inc. is bringing back its former chief executive to lead the company again. Seattle-based Zillow said Thursday that Rich Barton, one of the founders of the real estate listings company and its CEO between 2005 and 2010, has been appointed to the top role at the company. Mr. Barton succeeds another founder of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff, who took over the job in 2010 from Mr. Barton.

Zillow (NASDAQ:ZG) shed some light on where the company is headed as it announced its quarterly results late on Thursday, while also revealing that one of its main former leaders is coming back to the helm once again.The online real estate database said that for its fourth quarter of its fiscal 2018, its net loss was up to $97.7 million, about 26.5% wider than it was during the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company managed to turn a profit of a penny per share, meeting the amount that the Wall Street guidance was calling for.Zillow added that its revenue for the period tallied up to $365.3 million, a 29% gain when compared to the amount of the year-ago period. Analysts were projecting the company's sales to reach $351 million.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsIn other big news, the database operator said that co-founder Rich Barton, who brought Zillow to the masses in 2005, has been brought back as CEO, a position he occupied until 2010. The other co-founder is Lloyd Frink, and he will take on the role of executive chairman.For its first quarter of the current fiscal year, the company said it sees revenue in the range of $417 million and $443 million, ahead of the $404 million that analysts see.ZG stock is down about 1.5% after the bell as the company posted its quarterly results and announced the return of its former CEO. Shares had been up close to 0.5% during regular trading hours on Thursday. More From InvestorPlace * 10 Smart Money Stocks to Buy Now * 7 Financial Stocks With Accelerating Growth * 7 Healthy Dividend Stocks to Buy for Extra Stability Compare Brokers The post Zillow Earnings: ZG Stock Dips as Q4 Loss Widens, Co-Founder Returns appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell:Shares of Zillow ZG fell as much as 8 percent in extended trading and then regained those losses to trade up more than 8 percent after the online real estate company announced its CEO Spencer Rascoff will be stepping down .

Chief Executive Officer Spencer Rascoff is handing the reins to Executive Chairman Rich Barton, 51, who co-founded the company in 2005. Zillow, whose shares are down 46 percent since June, announced the move along with a quarterly earnings report that shows short-term results below analysts’ expectations. Changing the company’s leadership “so that my voice is out at front during the period of extreme evangelism seemed like the right thing,” Barton, who was also a founder of travel site Expedia Group Inc., said in an interview.

On a per-share basis, the Seattle-based company said it had a loss of 48 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 1 cent per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average ...

Zillow Group Inc. co-founder and former CEO Rich Barton is returning to lead the Seattle online real estate company as its top executive. Barton has served as Zillow's executive chairman since stepping down as CEO in 2010. The leadership shakeup comes on the heels of a tough year for Zillow's stock, which was trading at $35 per share after the close of the market.